Welcome to Grade 6!

September 2015
Issue 1

Assalamu-alaikum! I would like to welcome your child to my class and hope that he / she
will have a successful, prosperous, and enjoyable year, Insha Allah.
My Biography

Special points of
interest:
My Biography
Our Year
Ahead
Student
Arrival
Tribes
Class
Subjects
Classroom
Pictures

Inside this issue:

Our Year Ahead...

Agenda and
Student Arrival

Tribes

Class Subjects

My name is Br. Shehzad Uddin

and I am the Grade 6 teacher,
as well as the Head of IFSDurham. This is my 7th year
teaching at IFS and my 4th year
teaching Grade 6. I am also a
PhD student at OISE/UT, completing my degree in Educational Administration. My
journey at IFS started in 2006
when I had recently graduated
from York University with a
Double Honours B.A. in English and Psychology, and a
B.Ed. In my first year, my
Grade 3 class attained high
EQAO results which significantly contributed in IFS becoming the number one
school in Ontario. The following year, I taught Grade 4, as
well as Gr. 10 and Gr. 11 English, and Alhamdulillah, my
Grade 10 students achieved
100% on their Literacy Test
and our High School also became the number one in Ontario. After that, I took a study
break to pursue my M.Ed and
meanwhile, I remained part of

IFS as a supply teacher and a

volunteer. I returned in 2011 as
a Grade 6 teacher and Alhamdulillah, my students achieved
100% results for EQAO in Reading, Writing, and Math. I taught
Grades 3 and 6 for another
three years, maintaining high
results.
My strong ties with IFS are reflected in my volunteering at
the school since 1994. Since
that time, I have observed
many positive changes, strong
growth, and bountiful successes this prestigious institution
has undergone. These successes are testament to Allahs
Blessings, talented students,
supportive parents, dedicated
staff, and strong leadership.
Alhamdulillah, I have served on
many committees, such as Admissions, Awards, Book Fair,
Computer and IT, Discipline, eTeacher Report Cards, Houses,
IFS and Scarborough Regional
Spelling Bee, Literacy, Mathematica, MIST, Play Day,
Speeches, Boys Soccer, Stu-

Our Year Ahead...

2-3

Classroom Pictures 4
Contact Information 5

Insha Allah this will be a challenging and exciting year for

the Grade 6 students. Masha
Allah, there are 11 students
this year (4 boys, 7 girls).
The academic demands are
great for this year and all
students must be focussed
and prepared to put in their
best effort in all areas of

work. As you are aware, the

Ontario curriculum will be
followed and your child will
be participating in the EQAO
provincial assessment in
Reading, Writing, and Mathematics in June 2016. The
school will be sending you
more information about the
testing at a later date.

dent Council, and Track and

Field. I have also enjoyed delivering presentations and conducting workshops for IFS and
IFT teachers on Literacy, Classroom Management, computer
software, Assessment and
Evaluation, School Culture,
Bullying Prevention, Teaching
Students with ADHD, Maintaining a Positive Attitude, and
Tribes. In addition, I have conducted scholarly presentations
at OISE/UT and York University
on single-gendered schooling,
the Tribes Process, as well as
Cyber-Bullying prevention.

Welcome to Grade 6!

Page 2

genda / Student Planner

A student planner (school agenda) has been provided to each student. It is important for the students to track all homework, assignments, tests, and projects in the planner and take home all the
necessary books and notebooks for homework completion. Students are to complete the work to
the best of their ability and bring all work- whether finished or unfinished- to school each day.
Please check to see what homework your child has each day and assist them by reminding them to
bring their work to school each day. If it cannot be completed for any reason, please send a note
stating the reason(s) for incomplete homework. The agenda is also a tool for communication between the parents and the teacher, as there is space provided for writing important notes and messages.

Student Arrival
The morning bell is at 8:20
am. Students are to line up
outside and make their way
to their classroom by 8:30
am. If a student is habitually
late, a note will be written in
the agenda. Students are to
listen to the morning announcements quietly at their
desks. In the morning we will

participate in Literacy/
Numeracy initiatives or DEAR
(Drop Everything and Read).
Students are expected to
come to school equipped
with all their books, completed homework, proper uniform, morning recess snack,
and a nutritious lunch.

Tribes
Students
should be
inside the
building by
8:20 am
and at their
desks by

8:30 am.

Students are to demonstrate

Islamic etiquettes in all
matters, to be punctual, responsible and committed in
their attitude and efforts. As
our school is a TRIBES School,
staff and students will be
following and implementing
the four TRIBES agreements
(Attentive Listening, Mutual
Materials for the Home

The following materials are

essential for the home to
aid in the learning: the
Quran (Arabic with English
translation), dictionary and
thesaurus. Each student is
required to purchase a 1.5
inch binder with tab dividers
for each subject for the purpose of storing any loose
paper received during the
course of the year. I urge all
parents to equip their child
with these items at the earliest possible time.

Respect, Appreciation / No
Put Downs, and Right to
Pass).

Phys-Ed, Health, and Library

I will be the Phys-Ed and Health

teacher for Grade 6. For Phys-Ed
class, students need to have
proper running shoes.

Issue 1

Page 3

Mathematics
For Math, the Math Makes
Sense Textbook, Practice and
Homework book, and supplemental Math handouts will
be used.
It is imperative that students

complete all Math Homework on a consistent basis

to remain caught up with
the Math program.

Language
For English Language, books
from the Nelson program,
Nelson Literacy 6: Student
Book 6A and Nelson Literacy 6: Student Book 6B will
be used. Spelling, grammar,
and phonics sheets, etc. will
be given in order to further
develop language skills and
expand students vocabulary.
Students will work on formulating ideas and giving evi-

dence, when responding to

text, thus developing their
critical thinking skills.
When completing a writing
piece, students will learn to
clearly articulate their ideas
and write in paragraphs.
They will also be reviewing
and editing their work, using
SPECO (Spelling, Punctuation, Endings, Capitals,
Omitted Words).

Science and Social Studies

In Science, handouts and
worksheets will be given.
Students will also observe
science experiments to further consolidate their understanding.

In Social Studies,
handouts from various
sources will be used.

Islamic Studies, Arabic, Quranic Studies, and French

For Islamic Studies, I will be
using the IQRA Program. Students will learn about the Seerah of Prophet Muhammad
(SAW), and other Prophet stories. The Our ProphetLife in
Madinah textbook and workbook will be used. The strands
of Aqeedah, Fiqh, Akhlaaq,
Seerah, and Social Studies
will be covered.

Quranic Studies will be 5

days a week and the teacher
will be Sr. Shahira.
Our French teacher will be
Sr. Fadilah and French will be
taught five times a week.

Issue 1

Welcoming Class Entrance!

Teachers Desk

Page 4

Welcoming Classroom Environment!

Top: Welcoming Chalkboard

Bottom: Classroom Setup

Student supplies ready!

Br. Shehzad
Islamic Foundation School Durham
2944 Audley Road N.
Ajax, ON
Phone: 905-619-9962
E-mail: br.shezz@hotmail.com
Class Website: http://
shezzgr6.weebly.com

I have launched a new website for Grade 6, which will have announcements, important events, photos, homework, and award
winners from our class. Please visit and bookmark:
http://shezzgr6.weebly.com
If you wish to contact me, please leave a message at the school
office, write a note in the agenda, or send a note with your child.
(Please avoid coming to class when lessons are in progress.)
For any class related issues, you can email me at
br.shezz@hotmail.com .

Br. Shehzad

Important: Our school is a nut-free school, so please do not send any snacks or lunches with your child that contain nuts or
peanuts, including Nutella. Please inform me immediately if your child has any food allergies or health issues that I need to
be aware of.

Parents are partners with

the school in their childs
academic learning and cultivation of proper Islamic
values. Together we will be
inculcating Islamic manners, etiquette, and respect
in them, to make them
good leaders and rolemodels of our community.

The Akhlaq Trait of the Month of September is

Punctuality. Refer to pgs. 37-38 in the Student
Planner for more details.
Please email me to confirm that you have read
the Welcome Letter by emailing me at
br.shezz@hotmail.com.
Jazakum Allahu Khairan,
Br. Shehzad Uddin

Insha Allah I hope this year

will be full of enthusiasm to
learn and excel academically and behaviourally as
Islamic individuals in the
Ummah, as well as contributing members of Canadian
society.

Grade 6 Teacher

Islamic Foundation School - Durham